Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Gregory Campbell

Abstract

This study explored the experiences of nonviolent women offenders over the age of 50 of all ethnicities who were formerly incarcerated and their involvement with restorative justice and recidivism from a public policy perspective. Although there was prior research on reentry of ex-offenders, the problem was that few studies focused on the barriers and success factors of reentry services for older female ex-offenders 50 years or older. The purpose of the study was to explore restorative justice and recidivism in formerly incarcerated women who were nonviolent offenders in an East Coast state with a focus on the barriers and success factors of reentry services for female ex-offenders 50 years or older. The theoretical framework and concepts used to ground this study was the person-in-environment theory, also known as an ecological perspective. This general qualitative design included thematic analysis and coding of interviews of five female ex-offenders. The results of this study identified that education and training of prisoners while imprisoned helped them secure a job after release and that employment after imprisonment helped with successful reintegration into society. This study showed that incarceration impacted the behavior change of formerly imprisoned women. The positive social change implications of this study are that reentry programs during and after imprisonment, such as education, training, religion, and restorative justice can help bring positive behavior change in formerly incarcerated women over 50 years old.

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